Sun Stifle Fever, Caitlin Clark in her playoff debut

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It's been about four months since the Indiana Fever came here for their first game of the season and got shut out by the Connecticut Sun. In the intervening months, Indiana has improved its rotations, developed its offensive identity and battled through unprecedented media attention — and developed into a bona fide playoff team along the way. But this meeting on Sunday felt a bit like turning back the clock.

Even after all that significant growth and change, the result in the playoff opener in September was the same as the season opener in May. The Fever lost to the Sun by more than 20 points. Connecticut couldn't completely turn off the Caitlin Clark Show on Sunday, but it turned the volume down further than any opponent in weeks.

The game was a show of force by the Sun, which has one of the best defenses in the WNBA: No team in the regular season held its opponents to fewer points (73.6) or allowed fewer rebounds (31.7). On Sunday, it was easy to see why. They both sealed off the perimeter and battled inside for the glass. That was enough to calm an Indiana offense that had been electric in August and September. The final score was Sun 93, Fever 69, and the game was largely decided before the fourth quarter even began. Connecticut has made a habit of comfortably getting through the first round of the playoffs in recent years. On Sunday afternoon, it seemed like that would continue.

“I've been waiting for the playoffs all season,” said Sun forward Alyssa Thomas, who had 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for her fourth triple-double of the postseason. “This is what we're playing for. This is just the beginning for us, Game 1, and we were ready to go… We're all hungry.”

Connecticut did a lot of things right in Game 1. But its most effective move came two months ago. The Sun pulled off a big trade midseason — rare in the WNBA — signing guard Marina Mabrey in July. A starter the past two years in Chicago and Dallas, Connecticut asked her to move to the bench here in hopes she could be an offensive catalyst for a team whose identity is built on defense. She has done that as needed in recent weeks. And she was ready to take on a bigger role when starting point guard Tyasha Harris went down in the first quarter on Sunday with a sprained ankle.

Mabrey played the rest of the game and scored 27 points. Her performance broke the league record for most points off the bench in the playoffs.

“Whether I'm coming off the bench or starting, I'm the same player,” Mabrey said. “Whatever the team needs to win the championship, I'll do it.”

The Fever looked unusually uncoordinated and struggled to control the tempo. Over the past few weeks, it's been easy to forget how young this group is and how little experience they have playing together, especially in a dynamic, fast-paced offense. On Sunday, it was impossible not to remember that. That was to be expected, of course, against a team as experienced and defensively principled as the Sun. Still, the regression was noticeable.

It was a tough first playoff game of her career for Clark. She finished with 11 points and made 4 of 17 shots, her worst performance since early June. Some of that seemed to be luck: There were a lot of open shots that didn't fall. “Honestly, I felt like I had some good shots,” Clark said. “They just didn't go in.” But it was also a matter of coverage.

Connecticut changed its defensive plan compared to previous games against Indiana. Instead of giving DiJonai Carrington the primary task against Clark, that role was given to Dewanna Bonner early in the game, who offers more length and finesse than Carrington. She did her job competently – not only blocking shots, but more importantly, preventing rushing and going downhill. But what tipped the scales was the fact that Connecticut kept substituting Clark. The coverage against her started with Bonner, but Carrington and almost every other player on the field were busy, too. Clark never had a chance to get comfortable with a defender or find a rhythm.

“It was about length,” coach Stephanie White said. “It was about giving us versatility in pick-and-roll situations and giving us a different look. This game is so much about comfort, about rhythm, about timing, all of those things. How can you make an adjustment that disrupts some of that?”

They screwed all that up for Clark and the Fever. Now they have three days to come up with an answer before a crucial second game on Wednesday. And the Sun will be working on a new way to stop Clark. They know they can't count on the same plan working twice.

“She's a great player,” Bonner said of Clark. “I know she's going to be great in the next game. We'll have to watch some more videos and see what we can do.”